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Small Dog Recovers from BIG Bladder Stone

When a four-year-old poodle mix named Fluffy arrived at the ASPCA Animal Hospital, doctors knew they were dealing with a very sick dog. Vomiting and straining to urinate, Fluffy was unhappy and visibly depressed. Surgeons decided to operate the following day—a decision that would prove more critical than they even realized.

Fluffy underwent a cystotomy, a procedure during which an incision is made into the urinary bladder to remove bladder stones. But what surgeons found was no ordinary stone: 2 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, the stone was “like a jumbo chicken egg,” said Dr. J’mai Gayle, Director of Surgery.

As Fluffy’s surgery was underway, doctors also discovered that pressure from the stone had caused her ureter (the tube from the kidney to the bladder) to rupture. Infected urine had spilled into her belly and formed an abscess, which Dr. Maren Krafchik had to clear out before the dog’s kidney could be removed. No wonder the poor pooch was vomiting and feeling so ill! Despite the surgical trauma that Fluffy had been through, Dr. Janice Fenichel, who saw Fluffy on her arrival, said “she looked 100 percent better” as soon as she awoke.

While Fluffy is recovering nicely, we hope that her story serves as a reminder to all pet parents. “It is so important to get any medical problems checked out right away,” says Dr. Amy Fox, Fluffy’s operating surgeon. “The sooner we treat these problems, the better chance the animals have of making a full recovery.”

Early signs of bladder stones include straining to urinate, blood in the urine, and frequent need to urinate. A pet owner noticing any of these things should take their pet to the vet immediately.

Fluffy’s cystotomy and additional procedures were made possible in part by the ASPCA’s Trooper Fund, a program in place to cover medical costs for animals whose guardians need assistance with veterinary expenses.

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There is no reason the owner should have let this go for so long. If you can't afford to take care of one then don't have one. I make so little money but I used Care Credit for my cat's hospital stay. Four years at 14% but I'm doing it.

I had taken my dog to his old vet because he wasn't acting normal (sad and lethargic) and she told me that Rocky a Maltese had a stone in his bladder after a series of tests and us insisting that something was wrong (which she didn't believe). She had us bringing him back and forth and giving us all kinds of medicine and special food to try and dissolve them. Every time we took our dog to her she would either lose the paperwork, think he was a she..it was just a mess. Finally we decided that we would go to a different vet after she spilled his urine sample all over his paperwork. The new vet saw Rocky and said that he would do surgery the next day. He did the surgery and took out two stones (which the last vet said it was only one) and said "he is all set we checked everything and he has no more stones." This was not even three weeks ago...yesterday my mom said Rocky seemed to be not doing too well so we took him back to the new vet who did the surgery. They found another stone in his urethra, he could have died if we didn't take him. They offered to preform another surgery for free tomorrow and apologized for their mistakes. we are going to do this surgery because we feel like we don't have a choice. How could a vet preform a surgery and not check everywhere. This has been a three month ongoing sad and stressful time for all of us. Rocky means so much to my family and I, I hope he pulls through surgery tomorrow. If anyone can help me please email me at [email protected] thanks.